Land Bank Adding Lights To Dog Park On Miacomet Road

The Nantucket Land Bank will install lighting at its dog park on Miacomet Road in response to concerns raised by community members and Land Bank Commissioner Mark Donato.

“It’s a mess, and everybody goes there at 5:00 p.m. Everybody gets off work at 5:00 p.m.,” Donato said. “This is going to make a lot of people happy.”

At its meeting Tuesday, the Land Bank Commission unanimously authorized $75,000 to be spent on lighting for the dog park, and gave staff permission to come back for additional funds if more money is needed.

“I think this is a great choice, and I'm looking forward to moving forward with it,” Land Bank executive director Rachael Freeman said.

Opened in December 2021, the popular park is open from dawn to dusk, but does not currently have lighting, meaning that it's technically supposed to be closed during the winter months before 5 p.m. At Tuesday's meeting, Freeman said that Donato had come to the Land Bank office and told the staff that people were "sitting with their headlamps shining on the dog park" in an effort to provide some visibility.

While work progresses on designing and installing permanent lighting, the Land Bank plans to place some temporary lights at the park. The Land Bank discussed several options for temporary lighting, including solar-powered lights and Christmas lights. They also discussed the importance of complying with Nantucket’s dark sky regulations and ensuring that any permanent lighting is thoughtfully designed.